On Friday, 25 March, Egyptian-American engineer Mohamed Radwan, 32, was arrested and detained in Damascus by Syrian authorities while photographing anti-regime protests in the city. The next day, he appeared on Syrian state television and confessed to receiving payment from abroad for photos and videos of Syria. He also confessed to visiting Israel. But despite many reports from Egyptian and international media, Radwan was never officially accused of spying.
Radwan’s family, friends and sympathizers began a campaign to push for his release, while the Egyptian and American governments began to lobby the Syrian government on his behalf. He was released from Syrian custody on 1 April and returned to Egypt the next day.
Earlier this week Mohamed Radwan sat with Al-Masry Al-Youm to discuss his experience.
Al-Masry Al-Youm: What were you doing in Syria?
Mohamed Radwan: In 2010 I got a job managing an office in Syria. It was technical marketing for a geophysics company.
Al-Masry: Were you politically active in Syria?
Radwan: No, I was not active politically in Syria. However, I was interested in understanding the current political climate.
Al-Masry: Did you really go to Israel?
Radwan: No, not at all. I mean, my brothers and sisters are under occupation there. And I told them, of course, I’d love to go, but that I’d never been before.
Al-Masry: What happened exactly when they captured you?
Radwan: I was at the Friday prayers on 25 March, which was called Dignity Day – the name it was given by activists in the ‘Twittersphere’. I went down to the mosque and heard this commotion, and just like everyone else, pulled out my mobile phone and started taking pictures. Then I walked outside of the mosque compound and wrote a Tweet, and this guy sees me writing a Tweet and sticks his head in and sees the application and says, “What are you doing?” I told him I was only sending a message. But he continued, “Well, you’re going to have to excuse yourself with me.”
And before I knew it, I was being taken away with a few other guys.
Al-Masry: Did you attempt to argue your innocence?
Radwan: Not aggressively. I was super calm the whole time. I understood that these people didn’t have the decision-making powers. That they were just following orders. I quickly understood that it was futile to speak with them.
Al-Masry: Why do you think then that they singled you out? Do you think they had been tracking you?
Radwan: Well that’s a good question. I think everyone in Syria kind of assumes they have some kind of file, but I think it was actually random.
The thing is, I probably looked conspicuous. Because if there’s all this commotion going on, and you’re not leaving the premises or if you’re not entirely involved with what’s going on, why the hell are you on the phone? So I think that might’ve been the reason why they picked me up, because I kind of looked conspicuous.
Al-Masry: Tell me about the facility you were kept at.
Radwan: I was put in a small room where blankets were provided and lights were on 24hrs a day. And I was offered restroom facilities three times a day with three meals a day. For the first four days, I had a roommate; for the last four days, I was in solitary confinement.
Al-Masry: How did you feel when they told you you’d have to admit to the allegations on camera?
Radwan: Well, on the very first night they started going through the Q&A, and they told me that I would have to get on camera and say that I had gone to Israel and been paid to take certain pictures. And I was like, “No I didn’t.” But they said, “Well you’re going to have to say that you did.” So eventually, I said, “Well if I don’t have any options…”
I mean, they were really persuasive. I mean, really persuasive. You can’t really argue your point.
Al-Masry: Did they torture you?
Radwan: No. They did not do that.
Al-Masry: And so what happened when you were going to be released?
Radwan: It was interesting, because the day before, I had another Q&A session, and it felt like a high-level person was questioning me and he just got really friendly at the end.
And then the next day they put me in handcuffs for the first time and started escorting me outside of the building after having claimed all my possessions. So I knew it was a good sign.
Al-Masry: So it just happened you were being released without explanation? Were you aware of the media sensation around your detention?
Radwan: I was just going through the process of being released, and I guess that process doesn’t include talking to me a lot. I ended up eventually meeting the Egyptian Ambassador, Shawki Ismail. But until that point, they still hadn’t told me that I was being released or why I was being released. They still haven’t.
I had no idea [about the media]. As a matter of fact, I was convinced for a really long time that no one knew at all. When I first got there, I told myself, "If I don’t get out for a week, it’s probably going to take a couple of months. And if I’m here for a couple of months then it might take up to a year." At every stage, I started preparing myself psychologically for it.
Al-Masry: Do you think that this is a worrying matter? That it can continue to happen to other people?
Radwan: Well, it is happening. I mean Khaled [al-Gayesh] got taken away. And there was the incident with Tik Root. But thankfully, they’ve both been released.
But there are Syrians, Americans, Iraqis, Algerians, Lebanese, and Jordanians being detained. I know this because they refer to the detainees by nationality. Other Egyptians too, because they said, “Bring out the Egyptian,” and it wasn’t me.
Al-Masry: What are your feelings about such incidents of detention?
Radwan: Well, its illegal under international law. So I don’t think it’s right. I definitely think people should be entitled to Habeas Corpus, which is a human right in the international convention of human rights. But still it’s happening in some of these countries in the region that are currently under a lot of pressure.
Regardless, I think people should have the right to trial and a lawyer.
Al-Masry: Any comments about how the recent Egyptian Revolution has affected what happened to you?
Radwan: I think that this is a positive sign, that the foreign ministry is operating and looking out for its citizens. And this is proof that we are on the right track as a country, and that we will accomplish what we set out to do — starting in Tahrir, 25 January, 2011.
Before that date, the foreign ministry wouldn’t care about detainees abroad. So this is an indication that the government now cares about us. And that the new people in the foreign ministry are good people who never had a chance to work and help out the country, because they were serving the old regime first and foremost, ignoring the Egyptian public…
Al-Masry: Anything else you would like to share?
Radwan: Yes, I need to thank some people. This was not an easy ordeal. This was an exceptional incident, where I was released in record time. Nobody has been taking into a Syrian prison and released within seven days. No one. So why me?
I think the Egyptian foreign ministry did a great job, so I’m thanking the foreign minister personally, Dr Nabil al-Araby, and Mr Mohamed Abd al-Hakam, deputy foregin minister for consular affairs. I also need to thank the Egyptian ambassador to Syria, Mr Shawky Ismail, and the consulate, Mr Mohamed al-Fayoumy and Mr Ahmed Shandawili. Also, I think the US government did a good job from the Embassy in Syria, and from Washington DC.
